The present invention relates in general to the computer field, and in particular, to a portable computer that can easily be adjusted to different and varying user needs by changing its configuration.
Current portable computers are often designed using a clamshell configuration, which includes a base portion with a computer keyboard, connected at one edge to a display portion via a hinge mechanism. While the user is able to tilt the angle of the display, the display is otherwise fixed in relationship to the base unit.
The display portion of such clamshell portable computers typically has a fixed aspect ratio, in which the width of the display is greater than its height. Many conventional displays employ a 4:3 aspect ratio. Other displays provide various “widescreen” aspect ratios, such as 16:9. Such aspect ratios, having width greater than height, are sometimes referred to as “landscape” configurations.
While landscape display configurations may be efficient for some applications, there are other applications for which it may be desirable to employ a display configuration having a height greater than its width, i.e., a “portrait” display configuration. However, since many portable computers have a display with a fixed orientation, users may be forced to use a landscape display orientation, even for applications in which a portrait configuration would be more effective. For example, many of the standard papers sizes for printed documents have heights greater than their widths. For users creating or reviewing documents formatted for printing on such papers, a portrait display configuration may provide more efficient use of the display area. Therefore, in some circumstances, it may be desirable to provide a portable computer having a portrait display configuration, while other circumstances may call for a landscape display orientation. It may also be desirable to enable a user to select between landscape and portrait display configurations based upon the task presently at hand. Thus, in accordance with one aspect of some embodiments of the invention, a portable computer is provided having a display that can be readily changed between landscape and portrait configurations. Such a configurable display may enable a computer to improve a user's satisfaction and productivity in connection with a wide variety of applications.
Because portable computers typically have a fixed display, users are often forced to choose between a small computer which is highly portable but saddled with a small display having limited display area, and a larger computer having greater display area but a correspondingly larger size and reduced portability.
Several attempts have been made to provide a portable computer with the ability to rotate the display so that he user can switch between display and portrait viewing mode. Those attempts have found little acceptance, often suffering from some combination of complexity, weight, high cost and lack of reliability. However, significant productivity improvements may be achieved by matching the user's application with the correct viewing mode. The widespread use of such applications and computers worldwide provides significant opportunities for enhanced productivity. Therefore, in addition to changing the computer's configuration to allow for different viewing formats (portrait and landscape), some embodiments of this invention may allow the user to use different screen with different sizes on the same computer base. For embodiments featuring display units capable of operation independently of a base, multiple display units can be interchangeably utilized with a common, shared computer base unit.